Opinion The Mohali moment

The daily Sahafat,published from Delhi,Mumbai,Lucknow and Dehradun,in its editorial in March 29,however,strikes a sceptical note: “There seems to be no possibility that the presence of political leaders at Mohali would give rise to any substantial diplomatic activity. This is only the performance of a formality and this would be the performance of a pleasant formality.”

Delhi-based Jadeed Khabar,in its lead story on March 28,notes that “the common people,intellectuals and media in Pakistan have welcomed the initiative,and cricket diplomacy indeed occupies an important place in Indo-Pak relations.”

WikiLeaks and after

Writing on the WikiLeaks fallout,Hyderabad’s most widely circulated daily,Munsif,says in an editorial on March 20: “The prime minister gave a statement in Parliament. But the opposition did not seem satisfied. Because it is true that the number of votes the Manmohan Singh government got in the Lok Sabha was larger than the number of its allies. Therefore,it is obvious that an ‘arrangement’ (bandobast) had been made to secure a majority. The additional votes were not given on the voice of conscience either,because some people were caught extending offers to members of Parliament. The Manmohan Singh government is,so far,fighting shy of a probe by a high-level committee.”

The paper has also taken the BJP to task for the contradiction between their public posture against the nuclear deal and their leaders’ alleged assurances to US diplomats,as revealed by WikiLeaks. It adds: “If the reported WikiLeaks revelation unmasking the BJP is not true,how can the revelations unmasking the Congress or the government be treated as absolutely true?”

Siasat,in its editorial on March 25,has criticised the prime minister’s statement in Parliament: “It is true that the BJP,particularly L.K. Advani,has its sights on the prime-ministerial chair. But the PM’s statement can in no way be termed proper. He was trying to divert from the real issue by turn of phrase,criticism of the opposition and the use of Urdu poetry. He said that the BJP had attempted a sting operation against the government to topple it,which shows its lust for power. That aside,if the government has not done anything wrong and it has not tried to buy votes,then not only one,many sting operations should not worry it.”

Lavish hospitality

Reacting to the ostentatious bandobast for the Imam-e-Haram (Kaaba),Sheikh Abdul Rehman Al-Sudais’s Delhi visit,and the pages of advertisements in Urdu newspapers organised by the president of one of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind factions,well-known Lucknow-based journalist,Hafeez Nomani contrasts the arrangements to those 20 years ago,when a revered Imam of Haram Shareef visited Lucknow. According to him,there was no effort then to push the visit,apart from routine information being provided,but he was still greeted by huge crowds,unprecedented in the city’s recent history. In Jadeed Khabar (March 26),Nomani writes: “Mohtaram Imam had come to Lucknow on the invitation of Maulana Ali Mian and Dar-ul-Uloom,Nadwa,who had much more money than Maulana Arshad Mian (the president of a faction of the Jamiat). If Nadwa had wanted,it could have bought the first pages of the biggest newspapers and spent Rs 50 lakh (20 years ago). But it did not.” Nomani adds: “The full-page advertisements that Maulana Arshad Mian (Madani) has issued in the name of Azmat-e-Sahaba (greatness of the companions of the Prophet) do not demonstrate any greatness. They,actually give rise to the perception that (God forbid) the Qadianis have opened a front against Khatima-e-Nabuat (the end of prophethood)!”